On the day the NFL informed teams that the 2025 salary cap number would increase by nearly $25 million from the $255.4 million figure used a season ago, the Green Bay Packers went into the offseason armed with roughly $49.1 million in total cap space, good for 13th in the league, and ranked 11th in effective cap space, the projected number a team will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected class from the 2025 NFL Draft, at approximately $46 million.
Obviously, things have changed over the last few months.
It's no secret that the Packers haven't done much in free agency. They did take care of some in-house business before the new league year began, re-signing linebacker Isaiah McDuffie and kicker Brandon McManus.
But in the early days of free agency, Green Bay stayed relatively quiet, only signing cornerback Nate Hobbs and offensive guard Aaron Banks to big-money deals.
They eventually added a few others in wideout Mecole Hardman, defensive tackle Cameron Young, and linebackers Isaiah Simmons and Kristian Welch, all of whom came cheap. And, of course, there were all the guys they drafted.
The biggest move the Packers made this offseason, though, wasn't an addition but a subtraction, as they chose to finally part ways with oft-injured cornerback Jaire Alexander, officially releasing him on June 9.
With the move, Green Bay created close to $7 million in additional cap space but took on more than $17 million in dead cap money. As the deal was closed after June 1, the Packers had the option to split that $17 million between 2025 and 2026, but opted to take the entire hit this season.
So, where does all of this leave Green Bay heading into training camp?
At the time of this writing, according to the fine folks at Over The Cap, the Packers still have $35,502,327 at their disposal, which is good for fifth in the NFL, trailing only the New England Patriots ($60,608,230), San Francisco 49ers ($45,697,549), Detroit Lions ($40,169,167), and Arizona Cardinals ($36,086,141).
What Green Bay ends up doing with this extra cash is anyone's guess. In the aftermath of the Alexander release, general manager Brian Gutekunst didn't completely write off the idea of adding a few more players.
"We feel very good about our cap situation, our flexibility to do things not only with our players here, but if anything comes across that we may want to do," Gutekunst said. "Like we've talked about in the past, we're in a pretty good spot right now."
While Cheeseheads would obviously like to see the Packers fill a few more holes on the roster before this season, it's also important to remember that several key contributors are currently set to play the 2025 campaign on expiring contracts, a list that includes standout right tackle Zach Tom, linebacker Quay Walker, and wide receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs.